Georgia Steel had suicidal thoughts after she and her family were sent death threats and abuse by cruel internet trolls following her stint on Love Island All Stars.
The reality star, 26, appeared on the ITV2 series in January and February this year, and finished in fourth place with ex-boyfriend Toby Aromolaran.
Her time on the show was turbulent, and she revealed after leaving the villa that she had been subjected to ‘vile trolls’ and ‘death threats’, causing her to briefly leave social media.
She credits her loved ones with keeping her on track but admits she struggled with the nasty messages, prompting her to consider leaving reality television for good.
When asked if she had suicidal thoughts, Georgia told The Sun: ‘I don’t want to use that term lightly at all as so many people are affected by suicide and my heart goes out to them, but there were times where I was thinking, “What is the point? Everyone hates me”.
Georgia Steel had suicidal thoughts after she and her family were sent death threats and abuse by cruel internet trolls following her stint on Love Island All Stars
The reality star, 26, appeared on the ITV2 series in January and February this year, and finished in fourth place with ex-boyfriend Toby Aromolaran
‘That is literally how I felt, like everyone hated me, and if it wasn’t for my family and my really, really close friends and their support then who knows, I could have gone down the road of suicidal thoughts.’
Georgia said she lived in fear as she wondered if the people who had sent her ‘death threats’ would target her in person and try to harm her away from the internet.
Admitting she didn’t leave her home for a week at one point, she said: ‘I could be walking down the street thinking, “Oh God, is she the one who wants to kill my family?” That is the worst part.
‘And when people came up to me and asked for a photo, I’d think, “Are you one of the trolls?”‘
Last month, Georgia spoke to Sky News about how the online trolling affected her and her family, saying: ‘My family and my friends, they had death threats. My mum got messages “How could you raise a girl like this?”
‘Yeah, which is awful, because like in reality… I just want to make the people that support and love me proud.’
Georgia then challenged the trolls over their actions, asking if they would dare say those things to a person’s face – and whether they had considered that their comments could be the thing to ‘tip someone over the edge’.
The influencer split from her Love Island beau Toby Aromolaran last month, less than a month after the pair reached the final of the All Stars series together.
The influencer split from her Love Island beau Toby last month, less than a month after the pair reached the final of the All Stars series together (Pictured on the show’s final in February)
It was revealed that Toby had been the one to end the relationship, which had ‘blindsided’ Georgia.
Weeks before, Georgia had taken a break from social media following the backlash she received during her time on the ITV2 show.
She branded herself ‘Britain’s Most Hated Woman’ and admitted she was scared to leave the house following her divisive time in the villa.
Georgia, who first hit screens in 2018’s fifth season of the show, caused stirs in the villa when she vied for eventual winner Tom Clare’s affections before reuniting with former flame Toby.
After her actions were exposed to her castmates at the ‘PDA Awards’ – a new take on the show’s ever-eventful Movie Night – Georgia revealed her social media was ablaze with trolling, mostly from women, which left her feeling ‘hated’.
Speaking to The Sun, she detailed: ‘I felt like the most hated woman in the country. I had no clue it would be that bad.
The Love Island All Stars couple, who finished fourth place in the final, called time on their whirlwind romance just one month since they departed the villa together
‘I’m 25 and I wanted to meet the right person for me, and the only way to do that was to get to know people.’
Georgia added that she had been scared to leave her home amid the backlash.
At the time of the trolling, a spokesperson from ITV said at the time: ‘We would always urge our viewers to be kind when engaging in social media conversations about our Islanders, and to remember that they are real people with feelings.’
She later returned to social media at the beginning of March, before her and Toby split, to share a slew of pictures of the pair.
Revealing she had been targeted with death threats, Georgia wrote: ‘Took some time off socials to decompress and process some of the comments I saw during my time on the show.
‘It really has taken me some time to recover hence the reason I took a break from social media. I’ve been trying to find a way to transfer them into positive light’.
Her Love Island: All Stars journey was undoubtedly bumpy, when she was initially rebuffed by Toby – with whom she had previously enjoyed a fling on Love Island: The Games – before the duo hooked up and left together.
She was a divisive figure on the ITV show after becoming embroiled in a love square with Toby, Callum Jones, 27, and Tom, 24, admitting she has feelings for all of them.
Her attempts to lure former flame Tom caused the most ructions, after she discussed fancying the footballer despite his pairing with Molly Smith.
Speaking about the negative reactions, she said: ‘I don’t see the boys receiving the hate that I did. It’s actually mostly women that have been trolling me and I wouldn’t have expected that It’s all really confusing and hard for me to get my head around.’
